San Benito County, CA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

San Benito County does not publish a dedicated vacant-property registration ordinance, so vacant lots are regulated through the general public nuisance standard. Code Sec. 1.06.030 makes it unlawful to allow accumulations of junk, trash, debris, scrap, and overgrown, dead, decayed or hazardous vegetation that attracts rodents or creates a fire hazard, whether or not the parcel is occupied. Vacant lots are therefore commonly cited when used for illegal dumping or left with heavy dry vegetation. Such parcels are also subject to fire hazard abatement: the County enforces a minimum weed-abatement standard and mails notices to abate fire hazards, giving owners about 30 days to clear hazardous vegetation before the County may abate at the owner's expense. Owners of vacant land in the State Responsibility Area are additionally subject to California Public Resources Code Section 4291, which requires 100 feet of defensible space clearance around structures (CAL FIRE). Note that in 2023 the Board of Supervisors rejected a proposed amendment that would have set a maximum 3-foot weed height and prescribed fuel breaks, so no specific county-wide grass-height number is codified; the operative standard remains the nuisance/fire-hazard language of Sec. 1.06.030 and the County's general weed abatement program.